American Warrior — a story of one man's resilient fight against all odds — had its international premiere at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) recently. Starring Indian-American actor Vishy Ayyar — based on a story on his own life written by him — American Warrior has already played at a dozen festivals and is eyeing a release next year. Accompanying Ayyar to IFFI Goa was his co-star Taylor Treadwell, who has shows like Big Little Lies and The Vampire Diaries to her credit. t2 caught up with the duo for a chat.

What was the genesis of American Warrior?

Vishy Ayyar: The story is loosely based on my own story. I built a $50 million business in real estate in 2004 but lost it all in 2008 during the real-estate crash in the US. I went bankrupt and lost some very close friends who were investors in my deals. I lost their money and also some precious relationships because of that.

I felt I was in a boxing ring and was constantly getting punched. These were people who loved me at one time and for them to turn against me, and rightly so, was traumatic. I wanted to redeem myself and it is from there that the story of American Warrior was born.

The story came to me in a dream in 2013. I woke up at 2am and ran to my computer. I was writing a book at the time and was already in a kind of writing mode. I immediately wrote the title of the film, which, at that time, was 'American Underdog Warrior'. I also wrote a few lines about a character who is looking for redemption. He is like Arjun in The Mahabharata. He doesn't want to fight, but he is forced to. The only difference between Arjun and my character Jay in American Warrior is that Arjun was a skilled warrior but Jay is not.

The film has taken 10 years to make. I shopped around Hollywood but no one was willing to back this story. Finally, I met a producer who had launched Chris Hemsworth and he took a liking to the story. He developed it with me for years and eventually it all came together.

Taylor, what interested you in this film?

Taylor Treadwell: The producers came to me with the opportunity to play Melissa. I read the script and fell in love with it. But I wanted the director (Gustavo Martin Benites) to also feel that I suited the part. So I put myself on tape and auditioned like everyone else. Thankfully, Gustavo also felt that I was right for the part.

Why was the title of the film changed from 'American Underdog' to American Warrior?

Vishy: In Hollywood, you cannot IP a title. You can use the same title over and over again. The title Heat, for example, has been used for multiple films. But recently, there was a film called American Underdog (starring Zachary Levi and Dennis Quaid) and that created confusion. So we decided to change the title.

Vishy, how much of your life were you willing to put out there for the world to see? Was anything off limits?

Vishy: I didn't have any apprehension, to be honest. I was anyway writing a book on my life story when the idea of making the film came to me.

I believe that it is Jay's vulnerability that the audience will connect with. As an artiste, the more vulnerable you are, the more authentic you come across on screen. That is beautiful and I am very driven by that.

Taylor, how was working in American Warrior different from the films you have done in the past?

Taylor: In a lot of the work that I have done previously, I was there to service a scene or move the plot along. But in American Warrior, I am part of the whole story. Melissa is woven throughout it, from start to finish. I had to look at my character and decipher what she is doing in every scene and how it related to what happened before and what was going to happen after. Working on an indie film like American Warrior leaves more space for collaboration between the actor and the director and for ideas from both sides to be heard.

I told them that I felt certain moments were missing in the script that needed to happen in order for their (Jay and Melissa's) relationship to make sense. I sat down with Gustavo and made my case for scenes that I felt were paramount to Melissa and Jay's love story. He added them and that was a high for me because I feel like I advocated for myself on set. In the world of independent films, there are no silos, we all are in this together.

Vishy, what were the biggest challenges of getting this project off the ground and bringing it to fruition?

Vishy: It has taken us more than a decade to finish it. I have made numerous calls and done uncountable meetings with people with the sole request of: 'Hey, come on, support this project'. It was very challenging, but I have always had the mindset of a sportsman. Growing up, I was a serious cricketer and I learnt that no matter what, you just don't give up. Anybody who plays sports at a decent level knows that it ain't over till it is over.

The first challenge was to raise the finance to make this film. Also, I had to train under a real UFC fighter for a year-and-a-half, twice a day. It was incredibly challenging. I would drive to training and sometimes ask myself: 'Why did I choose MMA?! I should have just written boxing... I was the one who wrote it, why didn't I make it easy for myself?!' (Laughs)

But the highs finally outnumbered the lows. Swami Vivekananda had said that only when a lion is pierced in its heart, does it give its mightiest roar. So the creative highs were parallel to the challenges. Just being on set was magical. To think that what started out as a seed in my mind was now an active set was a high.

Taylor, did you up pick up any MMA moves from Vishy?

Taylor: There is actually a great scene in the movie where he is trying to teach me some moves! (Laughs) But as a whole, no. Putting a 40-year-old body through that is really difficult. But it is very impressive how much he trained. He was a machine! The fact that he was released from hospital three days before we started filming and then came to set and immediately started throwing punches is testament to his mental power.

How important is physical and mental tenacity in the business that you are in?

Taylor: You need tenacity, grit, you need to be humble and yet confident. Acting is a crazy universe but you are in it because you love playing different people. I don't think there are many actors who would say: 'I love the part about going down the red carpet and having to smile so big that my face hurts!' Most people are drawn to it because of the worlds that they get to inhabit.

But you have to be able to hear the word 'no' a thousand times, perhaps a hundred million times, and keep going because there is going to be a 'yes' eventually.

What is the way forward for American Warrior?

Vishy: We have shown the film at around 12 festivals in the US in the last six months. IFFI is the first international festival for the film. We just got accepted to a couple of festivals in Italy. The US premiere took place in Santa Fe, which is a pretty reputed festival. We were the opening night film. The feedback everywhere has been very good. Now we have a sales agent who is pitching it to networks and things are looking positive. We are expecting a release next spring.
Taylor: One of my favourite things about going to festivals is sitting in the theatre and watching your film with the audience. And afterwards, people come up to you and talk to you about the film and their experience of watching it. I had a really happy experience at Indianapolis at the Heartland Film Festival. A gentleman came up to me with tears in his eyes and said that he had a similar experience to a character in the movie, who is a big part of the storyline. Watching his experience, or something close to it, being reflected on screen in such an authentic way, moved him. That moment made every ounce of heart, sweat and tears that we put into this project worth it.

From personal experience, has Hollywood embraced inclusive casting fully or is there a long way to go?

Vishy: There is more openness. Hispanics comprise a large part of the American population but they hardly get any representation on screen. But it is changing slowly. We definitely need more writers. I have lived almost 30 years in the US, which is more than I have lived in India. I am American, my outlook is American. But I grew up in India and it is very important for me, as an actor and a person, to tell and share my experience on screen.

I did star in shows like The Bold and the Beautiful, but everywhere I went, I would be categorised in a box. Things like: 'This is an Indian guy, put him in the the role of a guy at the convenience store or make him a doctor or an engineer'. But I refused to be categorised like that.

I am an action guy. I have the physique for it and I have trained for it. And I am a trained actor. So why not? I can be a protagonist. And American Warrior is testament to that.